Separator-trap.



L il /8 --22 1.). DONOVAN.

SEPARATOR TRAP.

APPLICATION msu ocT.5.19ae.

.. QSQQQ Patentd Jam L 1918.

JOHN J. DONOVAN, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

' SEPARATOR-TRAP.'

Specification of Letters Patent. i

Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

Application filed October 5, 1916. Serial No. 123,895.

To all whom t may concern:

Be "'t known that I, JOHN J. DONOVAN, a citizen VYof the United States, residingA at Boston, in the county of Suitolk andk lState of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Separator-Traps, of which ythe following isa specification;

The object of the present invention is to provide'a separator trap forseparating liquids-of different speci-fic gravities. The device as shown by the accompanying drawings is designed for installation -a drain pipe leading-to a sewer. In garages that have tloordrains to carry off the water that is f used for washingautomobiles it frequently happens that gasolene and other light liquids that give oif explosive vapor are spilled onv the licor and are drained through the pipe that communicates with the sewer, and if the explosive liquidy isfpermitted to ilow tothe sewer it becomes vaporized in the latter and is likely` to-become ignited and to cause an explosion.

My present invention provides a separator trapv that prevents light explosive liquids from lpassing .to the sewer with the water that is drained from thefloor. It also separates the lighter liquidfrom the water and causes the formerV to accumulate in a separate chamber or receptacle. If an excessiver volume .ofwater, or water and lighter liquid, should flow into the trap at one time,

the trap prevents the water from overflow-v ing into the receptacle orv chamber that is intended exclusively for the lighter liquid, to the end `that thelighter liquid maybe removed from timeto timev fromits receptacle.

as it accumulates therein, free from water and 1n a usable condition. My device acts also `as a Safeguard against `neglect to. re-

move the lighter liquid from its receptacle,

kin that it closes the outlet to the sewer whenever the lighterliquid has accumulated to a predetermined level in thereceptacle` provided for that purpose.v The result of closingcommunication between the trap and sewer is that no vmore liquid can pass through the trap, and the water thatwould under normal conditions be -drained from the' floor to the sewer will have no outlet and will accumulate on the loor. In" order, therefore, to reopen communication between the iioor drain and the sewer itis necessary.

to remove a substantial quantity. of the lighter liquid from its.receptacle. Y If the outlet pipe forming communication between the separator and the sewer should become obstructed to an excessive degree by an accumulation of dirt,the normal condition 'ot' the separator would be restored by removing such accumulation. A clean-out pipe is provided for. that purpose. In nocase, however, would an excessive accumulation of water in the separator result. in overflow of water into the receptacle for the lighter liquid, for

the device is provided with a iioat valve arranged to close.communication between the water compartment and the receptacle for the -lighter liquid, regardless of what condition is responsible for lan excessive accumulation of water inthe water compartment.

' 0f the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one form` in which the present invention may be embodied: l

Figure l represents an elevation including the separator trap, a floor drain for conducting liquids thereto, an outletpipefor conductingwater from the separator to the sewer, a cleanfout for the latter pipe, and an auxiliary-receptacle for the lighter liquid thatl is separated froml the water.

Fig. 2 represents 'a Avertical section, on a larger Scale, of the separator from the same point of view as Fig'. l.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts wherever they occur.

A floor surface is indicated at 10 in-Fig. 1,

and a drain pipe for the floor is indicated at l1. The casing of the separator is indicated at 12. yThe separator is ldivided by a partition wall' 13 to provide a trapV chamber 14 and a storage lchamber 15 for the lighter liquid. Drain vpipe 11 `conducts the liquid into chamber 14. :The outlet pipe that'conducts the water to the sewer is indicated at 16, and has a trap portion 17 and a clean-out portion 1S. The outlet pipe is in communication with the chamber 14 below the normal waterv level. Said water level is indicatedby broken -line :v -cc. An intermediateI portion otpipe 11 is brokenout, for the receiving end of said pipe need 4notbe as close to the separator -as shown by Fig. 1, but would, in the majority of cases, be more remote therefrom. If desired, -a trap may be interposed in pipe 11, between the receivingend of the latter and`oha1nber14, to accumulate dirt, but this wouldbe an immaterial'consideration as far'as thek presentinvention is Yconcerned.`- v .f`

Casing 12 is provided with a removable cover formed in two sections, the latterwbe- Y as shown by Fig. 1, would preferably have provision forv holding' packing material as' indicated at 21. The purpose, ofV packing material k'would be to prevent liquids from leaking directly. into theV chambers of the separator and' to prevent vapor froml leaking out. ,Chamber 14..is provided withA a vent vpipe 22,'a1id chamber v15-is provided with a vent pipe 23. f i' The receiving end 24 of `the sewer pipe (Fig. 2) is -formed to provide a valve seat and provided with' -a swinging valve 25. Said v'alveis mounted upon a pivot member 26, and closes in the direction of flow. This valvel and likewise the other movable elements shown by Fig. 2 occupy the positions represented byfsolid lines when normal conditions'` exist. yValve 25 remains open excepting whenthe lighter liquid has accumulated to a predetermined level in chainber 15", and is closed automatically when the lighter liquid reaches such level', as will be understood after furtherdescription.

-An elbow vmember 27 forms communication from chamber 14 to chamber 15, and is formedwitli an annular flange 28 through which the lighter liquid may flow. This flange is passed through a hole in partition 13 and is provided with a 'screw-thread yto receive a clamping nut 29. The joint is inalde tight by a washer 30y of packing materia The receiving end of elbow member 27 is formed to provide a'valve' seat-for a valve 81, said seat being yindicated at 42. .This valve has a vertical rectilinear Vmovement toward and from its seat, and'has a stem 32 that yis guided by a spider 38. The valve member is arranged directly upon thefloat element. yThexfloat and valve collectively are. lighterthan water but heavier than gasolene or otherliquid of a similar nature. As

shownby Fig. v2 this' float is sustained by the buoyancy of the water Vat level w-m, and even. though a body of Alighterliquid might rest Von the water, the valve would not close' the-receiving end of member 27. The passageway, through member 27' therefore vremains, open, excepting as .hereinafter explained, to .enable lighter liquid to overflow lfrom chamber `14 into Vchamber .15; but if the water-in chamber 14 should rise to the level off-valve `seat 42 it wouldcarryrthevalve to said seatnandrthus close 'communication betweenA` trhegftw'o;wchambers.v Valve`41 is therefore the-means Lof preventing-'water from' entering `member s 27i fAny .lighter hquidthathasnot enough buoyancy tosusl tain it would be free to iiow into .chamberl asVY lono as the valve is' separated kfrom its n Seat ine y-y represents the level to which fseparation of the lighter liquid from theywater ,and for preventing water from over- 'flowinginto chamber 15 in the event of an excessive accumulation of water in chamber 14. If an excessive accumulation of water in chamber 14 were .dueto obstruction'- in.

the outlet pipe, such obstruction could be removedthrough clean-out 18, whereupon` the water would flowthrough .pipe 16 tothe sewer until its level drops to line aie-w.

sewer Awhen an excessive quantity of vthe lighter liquidhas accumulated in chamber 15. Outlet valve25.is normally sustained in open position by rod. 44; The upper end of this rodis connected to an oscillatory arni that the-outer endk of one will rise. as the outer end of tli-e Iothermoves downwardly, and vice versa.- The upper end `of -a'l-ink 49 is connected to arm 48 by `a pivotfmember 50, and. the lower 'lend of.- saidwrodis connected to a floatarm 39 bye-suitable connection including'a pivot Vmembery 51. Arm.

S9'Carries a float40, and is arranged upon.- afulcrum pin 38.@ The-combined weiglitof I Y I v will now describe the ineans foi1 'aiito-` v matlcally .closing communication with the" ico the elements in chamber 15, that 'are/connected to rockshaft 47, is'greater than :the

combined weight of the elements inv chamber 14, thatare connected to said vrockshaft, and consequently valve k25 will vbe sustained-iii open positionas long asthe'lev'elfof liquid' in lchamber V15n` is below .thevlevel indicated by broken line cal-a, although as Vfloat V40;

rises valve`25 will move towardv its seat. On the other hand, as the liquid isfremoved from chamber 15, float 40 will descend' and raise valve25.. .,1 Y r i Rockshaft 47 has its V:bearing in a sleeve 53,- and` the'latter is arranged to extend through ahole in p'artitionl?)` and is clamped;

tosaid partition by a-clampingfnut 54. IThe sleeve is-couiiterbored lfor the lreception of packingv material 55, and 'is-provided with a screw-'cap 56 toconine the-packing material and-to furnish a bearingfor one end of the rocksha-ft: :This bearingsupport forf vthe rockshaft prevents -liquid from lleaking into-'- chamber' `15 from chamber l14 v inl the event thatl the latter f chamber' becomes filled with liquid through*r a stoppage of *the KEoutlet pipe, either by'a'n VVac'cumi'il'ationofY dirtor by the-closing ofvalve 25. Ina'smuch as the pressure of liquid in chamber-14 would never.'

beL appreciable; #packing material' would iso not have to be compressed to a ldegree that would materially resist motion of the rockshaft.

I have shown a pump 57 for removing the liquid from chamber 15. The handle of the pump is indicated at 58. In the present instance the barrel of the pump extends through a hole in cover section 20 and has screw connection with the latter'. The upper or outer end of the pump is provided with a nipple 59 adapted to receive a coupling device of a hose, so that the liquid may be pumped into a portable receptacle. The capacity of chamber 15 is optional, but for the sake of economy in the manufacture of the casing 12 the chamber 15 would preferably be only so large as to accommodate the necessary operating elements. Hence, if it were desirable, in any case, to store a greater quantity of the lighter liquid than the chamber 15 would accommodate, an auxiliary receptacle could be arranged at substantially the same level as the casing 12 and located at any convenient distance from it, and connected to chamber 15 by a pipe. I have therefore indicated an auxiliary receptacle at GO in F ig. 1 and have included a pipe 61 for conducting liquid from chamber 15 to the auxiliary receptacle. The lines that represent the pipe 61 are broken to indicate that the receptacle may be at a relatively great distance from casing 12 instead of being located in the close relation s shown. Receptacle 60 would be arranged at a level thatwould enable the liquid therein to flow back to chamber 15 as well as to enable the liquid to flow in the opposite direction, so that such liquid could be pumped out from bot-h the chamber' and auxiliary receptacle by pump 57. Receptacle 60 is provided with a vent pipe 62.

In order to insure the desired operation of the device when it is first put to use, it would be desirable to let enough water flow into it to ll it to the level indicated by line .rv-. It a large quantity of gasolene Or other light liquid should flow into the device bet'ore any water has entered, the lighter liquid would pass through outlet pipe 16 to the sewer, but the initial presence of water would sustain the lighter liquid so that the latter would How into the chamber 15 provided for that purpose. Once the requisite quantity of water has been intro duced into the device the desired separation of liquids will follow as a natural consequence.

Hy device becomes incapableof acting as a drain whenever an excessive, quantity of water accumulates in the trap chamber 14, regardless of what causes such excessive accumulation, and thus puts the user under the necessity of yremoving the lighter liquid if that be the cause of stoppage, or of removing an accumulation of dirt from the outlet pipe if that be the cause of stoppage.

I claim:

1. A separator trap comprising a trap chamber having an inlet, an outlet for water and an outlet for liquid lighter than water, the latter one of said outlets being above the level of the highest portion of the water outlet, and a'fioat valve responsive to the buoyancy of water in said chamber but non-responsive to a liquid lighter than water, said valve being arranged to close the upper one of said outlets when the water in said chamber is above said level but below the upper outlet.

2. A separator trap comprising a trap chamber having an inlet and two outlets, said outlets being respectively above and below the normal water level of said chamber, a storage chamber arranged to store whatever liquid overflows saidv trap chamber through the upper one of said outlets, a valve arranged to control the escape oit liquid through the lower one of said outlets, a float arranged in Said storage chamber, and means arranged to transmit motion from said float to said valve to close the latter when liquid accumulates to a predetermined level in said storage chamber.

3. A separator trap comprising a trap chamber having an inlet and two outlets, said outlets being respectively above and below the normal water level of said chamber, a storage chamber arranged to store whatever liquid overfiows said trap chamber through the upper one of said outlets, a valve arranged to control the escape of liquid through the lower one of said outlets, a float arranged in said storage chamber, means arranged to transmit motion from said float to said valve to close the latter when liquid accumulates to a predetermined level in said storage chamber, and a oat valve responsive to the buoyancy of water in said trap chamber and arranged to close the upper one of said outlets when the water level in said trap chamber is above said normal level and below the latter said outlet.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

JOHN J.k DoNovAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained` for five cents each,vby addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

